An injured wild tigress, which was rescued from Nagarahole Tiger Reserve on Thursday, succumbed to injuries at the Mysuru zoo on Friday.
The forest guards at the tiger reserve had found the tigress, which had collapsed due to severe exhaustion, near a water body at Kakanakote in D.B. Kuppe range.
Nagarahole Tiger Reserve Director H.C. Kantharaj told The Hindu that the animal was tranquilized and captured using a net. “We noticed a deep maggot-infested wound on its abdomen. It was ill and had perhaps not eaten for many days due to its inability to hunt,” he said, adding that the wound could have been caused by the horns of a bison.
The rescued tigress, aged around 13 years, was rushed to Mysuru zoo for treatment at around 6 a.m. on Friday, but could not survive. “The survival of aged wild tigers was difficult as they are incapable and susceptible to injuries when they try to hunt. The injured tigress was starving since many days,” Mr. Kantharaj said.
Meanwhile, Mysuru zoo deputy director Vijay Kumar also confirmed that the tigress was starving for over a week. “It was brought in a serious condition to the zoo. Despite efforts by our vets, it could not survive,” he said.
‘We noticed a deep maggot-infested wound on its abdomen. It was ill and had perhaps not eaten for many days due to its inability to hunt’
